Educational Science

'Imagine a lush tropical island slipping beneath the waves': Drowned island the size of Iceland found off Brazil

In 2018, Brazilian and British scientists were exploring the seafloor around a volcanic plateau known as the Rio Grande Rise when they spotted rocks that looked like they belonged on dry land. Watching video relayed from their remotely operated submersible 650 meters (2,100 feet) below the surface, unusual red clay...

Boiling tap water can remove nearly 90% of microplastics, new study finds

Boiling tap water before drinking it can remove at least 90% of potentially harmful microplastics, a new study has found. Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic debris measuring less than 0.2 inches (5 millimeters) long, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These broken-down remnants of industrial waste...

Striking NASA images capture the birth of Indonesia's new jungle city on Borneo as the country looks to move its sinking capital. The satellite shots from April 2022 and February 2024 show a network of new roads on the landscape and the construction of buildings in eastern Kalimantan, where Indonesia...

Amazon wildfires could burn at unprecedented scale as El Niño and drought make rainforest 'more flammable'

The Amazon may experience unprecedented wildfires this year that could severely damage its vital ecosystems, experts have warned. Record-high temperatures, severe drought conditions and the El Niño weather phenomenon have combined to make the Amazon more flammable, Bernardo Flores, a researcher at Brazils Federal University of Santa Catarina, told Live...

What causes tinnitus, and can it be treated?

Many people have experienced an occasional ringing, buzzing or roaring sound in their ears — but for people with tinnitus, these phantom noises persist, often for several weeks or months. But what causes tinnitus? And are there ways to manage the symptoms? Sabrina Lee, a licensed audiologist with HearUSA, a...

Weird dent in Earth's magnetic field is messing with auroras in the Southern Hemisphere

A bizarre dent in Earth's magnetic field above the southern Atlantic Ocean weakens the southern lights, new research finds. The South Atlantic Anomaly is a large, oval-shaped region over South America and the southern Atlantic Ocean where Earth's magnetic field is weakest. The anomaly is already well known for allowing...

27 weirdest things on Google Earth

There are many, many weird things seen on Google Earth. The service, which was launched in 2005, compiles images from various sources, from satellites in geosynchronous orbit that snap low-resolution photos from tens of thousands of miles above Earth, to satellites closer to Earth that capture higher-resolution shots, and even...

Oldest evidence of earthquakes found in strange jumble of 3.3 billion-year-old rocks from Africa

Scientists have found signs of some of the earliest known earthquakes in 3.3 billion-year-old rocks. The rocks provide early evidence of plate tectonics, which explains Earth's crust as split into large plates that glide across the mantle. The rocks also point to what conditions may have been like when life...

Thawing Arctic permafrost could release radioactive, cancer-causing radon

Thawing permafrost in the Arctic could release radon, a radioactive gas that has the potential to cause cancer, scientists have warned. The permafrost that keeps the ground frozen year-round in the Arctic acts like a cap that prevents a variety of gases from bubbling up into the atmosphere. The most...